No. 6 - Nyctophilian, Then Comes Silence (2015)

(Over a series of twenty short posts – one per week for the remaining weeks of this decade – I am aiming to highlight in vaguely chronological order some of the most important and influential releases in the goth/post-punk/darkwave genre of the 2010’s).

“Then Comes Silence is the best genuine goth band of the 21^st century that has encapsulated the early 80’s goth sound.” – Mark Musolf, seminal Leeds post-punk DJ during the first gothic wave (and ever since)

“I’m a fan. Then Comes Silence is the most important dark rock band that has come out for two decades.” – Jyrki, singer of leading second-generation band The 69 Eyes

If any band sums up all that is good about the third wave of post-punk/goth/darkwave over the past decade, it’s surely Then Comes Silence. The Swedish band transcend traditional pigeonholing, drawing influences from a huge range of sources (in addition to the first and second generations of goth) that range from classical music to grunge, from old school heavy metal to original punk, and from psychedelia to shoegaze.

When he formed the band in 2012, bassist and singer Alex Svenson seemed to draw particularly on the latter two forms of music, his whispered and distorted vocal floating over a blissed-out soundtrack that ranged from krautrock to A Place To Bury Strangers, filtered through My Bloody Valentine and The Telescopes. Having led a nomadic childhood and with fifteen years of experience in the music industry in bands as far removed from the gothic aesthetic as can be imagined, Svenson had imbibed a broad musical education which resulted in a pair of eponymous albums (in 2012 and 2013) that drew critical praise and hinted at the band’s potential, with the innovative and varied guitar work of Svenson’s long-time collaborator Seth Kapadia very much to the fore.

However, neither of the earlier releases could prepare the listener for the instant appeal of the band’s 2015 third album, Nyctophilian, whose title indicated a strong lurch towards a more darkwave sound. The first track (and video single) Strangers quickly garnered a following with its scuzzy bass beat, simple guitar melody and a repeated refrain. The following track She Loves The Night (presumably referencing the titular nyctophilian) was both lyrically and musically the most obviously gothic track on the album, built over a fast angular descending riff (think Dark Entries or Shadowplay), but most of the album still had more than a feint whiff of psychedelia, with outstanding tracks like All Strange, Death Rides and in particular the catchy Spinning Faster sounding like a goth-ed up Dandy Warhols on steroids, with Svenson’s deep and breathy, sleazy croon reminiscent of his compatriot Jonas Almqvist (Leather Nun) or Flesh for Lulu’s Nick Marsh. All of a sudden, The Comes Silence sounded like the coolest band on the planet.

An already strong album was further enhanced by a couple of more experimental tracks, Demon’s Nest and My Head, where the band create a more claustrophobic atmosphere over a more cinematic soundscape, climaxing in a memorable string-bending repetition of the same bar of music for over a minute towards the end of My Head, as the band returned to a style more in tune with the previous two albums but with the cleaner sound of the newer tracks.

Unsurprisingly, the album drew rave reviews across the board and caught the attraction of record companies, with the band opting to sign for German metal label Nuclear Blast, who were immediately rewarded with the band’s best (and fourth) album Blood released in 2017. For me, this is the finest post-punk/darkwave/goth album of the past decade, with the opening four track salvo leaving the listener in no doubt that this is a band in supreme command of their sound and understanding the importance of both dynamics and melody in creating a truly darkwave sound. Opener The Dead Cry For No-one is a dark dancefloor-oriented statement of intent, leading immediately on to the punky Flashing Pangs of Love, which unleashes a powerful post-punk wall of sound, with Kapadia’s riffing and effects pedals very much setting the tone, as they do throughout the album. Following track Strange Kicks opens the sound out further, embracing more of the earlier influences of previous albums in the verse before unleashing a huge, syncopated rock riff underpinning another memorable chorus. Fourth track My Bones adds a creepier deathrock feel with (again) a heavier-than-expected chorus that would appeal well beyond the narrow confines of the goth fraternity.

There are more anthemic post-punk choruses over a thrilling, guitar-driven base, carefully-crafted darkwave middle-eights and more subtle, almost lyrical passages in other the video singles Warm Like Blood and Good Friday, the latter arguably the album’s most accomplished song, a poignant tribute to Svenson’s father who had recently passed away. 

To cement Blood’s reputation as a classic album, it also has the obligatory epic closing song, Mercury, a real slow-burner in the style of My Head which finds Svenson at his most operatic in an uplifting final section that calls to mind other classic final tracks (I Am The Resurrection, Champagne Supernova et al), leaving the listener both emotionally drained yet fully sated.

With the band seemingly on the verge of the big time, endowed with a sound that could appeal to more mainstream fans of both Interpol and Editors, Muse and Foo Fighters, or Royal Blood and The Courteeners, there was bad news from the TCS camp in 2018 with guitarists Jens Karnstedt and founder member Kapadia leaving the band in quick succession, but Svenson and drummer Jonas Fransson (who had joined the band prior to Blood) moved swiftly to recruit Mattias Ruejas Jonsson from A Projectiontion and Hugo Zombie from well-respected Basque horror punks Los Carniceros de la Muerte.  However, over the past twelve months the latter have more than proved their worth in some spectacular live shows, helping to create a visual aesthetic and spectacle which enhances the band’s darkwave credentials and means that image-wise as well as musically they are now a credible force to reckoned with.

With a fifth album recorded and ready to go (according to what the band told me at a recent gig), and a full and mature style that has evolved slowly but impressively over the decade, Then Comes Silence deserve to be one of the first bands to burst out from the darkwave ghetto and open the gates for the fountain of talent that has emerged during the 2010’s.

You can try before you buy Then Comes Silence's music via their Bandcamp page.